The Confederation of Chinese States (Chinese: 中华省份邦联) is a political and economic community of seventeen member states, located primarily in East Asia, centred around the territory formerly occupied by the Republic of China until its collapse in 1943. The Treaty of Nanking established the Confederation in 1990, after decades of varying levels of co-operation between the Chinese states. Member states agree to common monetary and fiscal policy as well as a level of common foreign and defence policy. However, the Confederation is not a sovereign nation and each member-state retains full independence, to the extent that some nations regularly disagree with and even openly ignore or oppose Confederation policy.

The members of the Confederation have adopted a common currency, the Pan-Chinese Yuan (元). Governments of the Confederation agree to have their inflation and interest levels set by the Chinese Central Bank, which has its headquarters in Shanghai. There have been, most recently in 2005, attempts to establish a common parliament and establish greater ties between the member states. However, this has met with resistance from some members and has not been adopted.
Governance of the Confederation is laid down in the Treaty of Nanking. There is a Secretariat in Nangking which is headed by a Secretary-General, who acts as a spokesman and administrative chief for the Confederation. The Secretary-General is chosen by agreement between all member-states, but rotates between the states every two years.

List of member states

The following states are members of the Confederation, with the year of their joining in parentheses.

States in association with the Confederation

Hong Kong is not a member, but since 1990 has been a regular participant in talks with the Confederation about greater ties. Hong Kong will adopt the Yuan on January 1, 2010.

Tibet has adopted closer and closer ties with the Confederation since 1990. However, the Tibetan government remains uncommitted to Confederation membership.

Taiwan and Manchukuo are both part of the Japanese Empire but the vast majority of the population of both provinces are ethnically Chinese. For this reason, Taiwan and Manchuria have petitioned the Japanese government to be allowed to join the Confederation several times. Japan's official position is that Taiwan and Manchuria are part of Japan and that no part of Japan may join the Confederation or any other international body separately from Japan. However, since 2001, Tokyo, Hsinking and Nanking have held regular, if inconclusive talks, on building ties between the Confederation and Japan.